


More To Life

by Higgles123



Category: Child 44 (2014)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-21
Updated: 2020-02-21
Packaged: 2021-02-28 07:14:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22830034
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Higgles123/pseuds/Higgles123
Summary: Little one shot where reader is the sister of Leo's best friend, Alexei
Relationships: Leo Demidov/Reader
Comments: 3
Kudos: 16





	More To Life

The apartment was crowded and full of people, most of whom you didn’t know. Many of them were colleagues of your brother’s and you weren’t sure you wanted to know them if truth be told. You hated your brother’s job -hated to think of all the lives and families he had helped to destroy for Mother Russia- but you understood the safety and security it gave to you all as a family. Then again, was anyone ever truly safe? Of course not. But that didn’t mean you couldn’t live in happy denial.

Your life was pleasant enough to be fair. After the death of your parents a few years back in an automobile accident, Alexei and his wife, Nina, had welcomed you into their home with open arms, and Alexei had gotten you a secretarial job in his office building. It was mundane and repetitive but you got to wear nice clothes every day and didn’t have to slog in a factory like so many your age. You had friends and you loved to read books. There was nothing better than immersing yourself in a make believe word for a few hours.

“You look about as happy to be here as I do,” a familiar voice murmured in your ear, and you erupted into goosebumps at his proximity and the smell of his spiced cologne.

Leo Demidov was your brother’s best friend as well as superior. They had fought in the war together and they had a bond that could never be broken. Well, perhaps except by the MGB if they should ever try, and even then the choice wouldn’t be down to Leo and Alexei. Leo was also someone you had secretly been in love with for the last three years. From the second you had met him there had just been something about him that had you entranced. You didn’t know what it was. His eyes that were blue yet sometimes were so dark with rage you could have sworn they were black? His full, soft lips that you ached to feel against your own? Or was it just him?

When you first met Leo, he hadn’t long divorced from his wife, Raisa. Your sister in law had filled you in on everything that happened there, and you felt so sorry for the man. It was obvious how much he had loved his wife and for that love to not be replicated must have killed him. It had taken you some time though to realise that Leo’s behaviour and mannerisms were not down to the fact that his wife had left him, but in fact they were just his nature. Once you were used to the permanent scowl upon his face and the way his eyes narrowed slightly as they observed anything and everything around him, you found that beneath the harsh exterior was actually a rather good sense of humour and a very dry wit that matched your own perfectly.

“I don’t know what you mean,” you smirked. “I’m having a wonderful time.”

“I almost believed you,” he smirked back, and you felt your heart flip flop. “I don’t know why Alexei insists on throwing these parties.”

“It’s not so much him, it’s Nina,” you explained, taking Leo’s glass of vodka out of his hand with a grin and taking a sip. “She enjoys showing off even though she acts as meek as a mouse. She likes to host these stupid soirees in the hope that she will look like more than just some village girl from Rostov. Anyway, I don’t really know why you’re complaining because you can leave whenever you want. I’m the one who has to stay here until the very and then help clean up. As if I haven’t already been tortured enough.”

“That is true,” Leo conceded with a bob of his head. “Yet I find myself unable to leave because I do not wish to offend nor upset my dearest friend.”

“Do you suppose if you were not in this apartment but still in the building, or rather on it, then it would count as still being at the party?” you asked suddenly.

“I’m not entirely sure,” Leo shrugged. “I suppose so.”

“Meet me up on the roof in five minutes,” you grinned.

“What? The roof?” Leo frowned, snatching his glass back playfully. “I think perhaps you’ve had too much to drink. There will be no going on the roof for you or me.”

“Suit yourself,” you pushed away from the wall and began to walk away. Throwing your head back you threw Leo the most mischievous look, completely unaware of the effect it had on him.

Leo sighed to himself, wondering what on earth you were playing at, but as he began to manoeuvre through the crowd people, he knew without a shadow of a doubt where he was headed.

“Leo, you going home already?” Alexei grabbed him by the arm, his dark eyes hazy with too much alcohol.

“No, of course not,” he gave a genuine smile. “Just going out for some fresh air. I’ll be back in a minute.”

“Well don’t be too long because Nina is looking for you,” Alexei smiled, patting Leo on the back in a friendly gesture. “She’s got another friend for you to meet. I tried to tell her no but what can I do? She never listens to me.”

Suddenly Leo found he couldn’t get to the roof quickly enough.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

You were nowhere to be seen when Leo made it up to the roof. The air was chilly and he had the perfect view of the city from where he stood. He waited almost ten minutes and was about to climb back down the fire escape when you appeared with that ever present smile on your face.

The light wind blew your hair back from your face and his breath was taken away just like it always was whenever he saw you. He had no right to think of you in _that_ way; you were Alexei’s little sister, but he couldn’t help himself. You were captivating and you lit up any room you were in with your friendly nature and raucous laugh that you never tried to contain. You were everything he wasn’t, and you were everything Raisa hadn’t been.

“I thought you weren’t coming,” he murmured.

“I got waylaid,” you explained. “But I’m here now and look what I brought.”

Leo smirked when you pulled a basket from behind your back and inside it was a very large bottle of vodka, and something that looked like an entire smoked kolbasa and some bread and cheese.

“I thought that we should at least be able to enjoy ourselves while we’re up here,” you smiled, sitting down near the roof edge.

You patted the ground beside you and Leo sat down with a groan.

“You poor old man,” you frowned with feigned sympathy.

“Less of the old,” he narrowed his eyes at you playfully. “I’m only a few years older than you.”

“True,” you nodded. “But when I sit down, my bones don’t crack so you see how I became confused.”

You unscrewed the top of the bottle and took a massive swig of vodka. You sighed contentedly and wiped your mouth with the back of your hand as you passed Leo the bottle. This was perfect. This felt like freedom and was far better than being stuck with a load of people you didn’t know and didn’t really like.

Neither of you spoke for some time. Instead you just listened to the sounds of the city beneath you and soaked in the fresh air. Eventually you shivered and considered sneaking back into the apartment for your coat, but you felt something warm drape itself over your shoulders.

“Thank you,” you smiled, breathing in Leo’s scent as it enveloped you in the form of his jacket. “Won’t you be cold?”

“I think I’ll survive,” he grinned, lighting up a cigarette.

“Of course you will,” you nudged him lightly with your shoulder. “Big, brave Leo Demidov; hero of the Soviet Union could never die from something so pathetic as cold weather.”

Leo just rolled his eyes at you and took a long drag on his cigarette. You watched out of the corner of your eye the way in which he moved his jaw as he exhaled the cigarette smoke. You always noticed those little subtleties about him and they plagued your thoughts and dreams constantly.

“Did you always want to be a hero?” you asked playfully.

“I’m no hero,” he muttered quietly.

“Well the state disagrees and who are you to argue?” you raised an eyebrow at him. “So if you didn’t always intend to be a hero, what did you want to be growing up?”

“I don’t know,” he shrugged. “I never really thought about it.”

“Leo, you must have wanted to be _something_ ,” you frowned at him. “Everyone wants to be something when they grow up. Alexei, for example, wanted to be a vet. Well, until he realised he didn’t actually like animals all that much. Then he wanted to be a teacher but he soon realised he had no patience.”

“What did you want to be then?”

“Oh that’s easy,” you grinned. “A mermaid.”

“A mermaid?” Leo couldn’t hold back his amusement.

“Absolutely,” you nodded. “Alexei read me a story about mermaids when I was around six or seven, and for years after I was determined to live out my dream. It sounded so magical, just swimming around in the open ocean forever, swishing my long hair and flipping my tail. What more could anyone want? You can imagine my distress when I grew up and realised it could never be.”

“You do have the hair for it,” Leo smiled at the childlike delight on your face. He loved your hair. It was so thick and luscious, and he felt his fingers twitch with the desire to touch it.

Whenever you were close enough, like now, he could smell the scent of the lavender shampoo you washed your hair with and he even slept with a bunch of lavender in his bedroom just to feel like he was close to you.

“All I’m missing is the tail,” you sighed. “Ah well, we can’t have everything, right?”

“What colour tail would you have had?”

“I’m not sure,” you admitted with a shrug. “Blue is my favourite colour but who wants a blue tail when they’re in a blue ocean?”

“Who indeed?”

“Perhaps purple,” you chewed the inside of your cheek as you thought about it. “I like purple because it fits all of the seasons and it suits every mood. Yes, I think purple is what I would choose.”

“If I ever hear reports of a purple tailed mermaid swimming in the Arctic, I’ll know it’s you then,” Leo grinned. “Tell me, will you lure men to their death with your singing?”

“You’re confusing a mermaid for a siren,” you snorted.

“There’s a difference?”

“Of course there is! Just don’t ask me what because it’s too complicated to explain properly.”

“Complicated or you just don’t actually know yourself?” Leo’s eyes twinkled playfully.

“Shut up,” you pouted, yanking off a hunk of bread and chewing it just so you wouldn’t have to say anything else.

A comfortable silence fell once more as Leo smoked and you ate. You closed your eyes and listened to the sounds of traffic from the street below. Even at this late hour, there were still many cars and many people on the roads, and you wondered what exactly people needed to do at this time of night. You often found yourself thinking about other people, about strangers you passed in the street. You wondered if they were satisfied with life? You wondered if they felt like there were things beyond their reach that they could never hope to have?

“Do you ever wish there was more to life than this?” you asked Leo.

“More than what?”

“ _This_ ,” you motioned to the city below with your hands. “Do you ever feel like your life is missing something?”

“Always,” he nodded, his eyes boring into yours with such intent that you felt as though you could never again look away from them.

His hand cupped your cheek and you could smell the cigarette he had just smoked upon his breath. His eyes watched your own, looking for something; for what you didn’t know? His thumb brushed softly back and forth across your cheek bone and you wondered how hands that had killed people could be so gentle as they touched your skin.

“Leo,” you whispered.

“Hmm.”

“Are you going to kiss me?”

“Do you want me to kiss you?” he murmured, his eyes falling to your lips briefly before flicking back up to your own once more.

You didn’t answer. You couldn’t. All you could think about was the swooshing in your ears and the pounding of your heart. Leo’s face loomed closer towards yours and his nose nuzzled against your own before his lips met yours in a gentle kiss. He pulled back for a moment and tilted his head slightly to gauge your reaction. A small smile played at the corners of his mouth and he leaned forward again to kiss you once more.

This time the kiss wasn’t soft. It was dominating and sensual. His tongue forced its way into your mouth and Leo groaned when you reached your own out to meet his. Suddenly, his hands were in your hair and you found yourself straddling his lap. You kissed desperately as though you were each other’s oxygen and as though the world was about to end at any moment.

You broke apart only at the sound of a car horn beeping loudly from the street below. Neither of you said a word. You just looked at each other and tried to focus steadying your breathing.

“I shouldn’t have done that,” Leo spoke quietly.

You looked down, unsure of what to say or how to feel. Feeling embarrassed and deflated, you moved to climb off of Leo’s lap but his fingers held your hips steady, refusing to let you go. You looked at him, chewing on your lip, desperate not to cry with the shame you felt.

“Don’t go,” he took one of your hands.

“But you just said-“

“-And I meant what I said. I shouldn’t have done that because you deserve better,” he murmured. “You deserve to be taken out and shown off before I kiss you again. You deserve to know how much you mean to me. I want people to know how I feel about you, and to feel envy when they see that I am with the most beautiful woman on this earth.”

“I… you… oh,” was all you managed to get out.

“Oh?” Leo’s lips twitched. “Just oh?”

“Yes… I mean no,” you shook your head and smiled suddenly. “I just… this was unexpected and I won’t lie when I say a part of me is wondering if I’ve drank too much vodka and I’m imagining this.”

“You have drunk a lot of vodka,” Leo nodded, a hint of a smile playing at his lips. “But you’re definitely not imagining this. If you want, I can kiss you again and then you’ll know it’s real.”

“But what about what you just said?” you frowned.

“Forget what I said,” he murmured against your lips as he kissed you. “You deserve all of those things and I will give them to you, but right now I want to kiss you because now that I’ve tasted you once I realise that I need more.”

“And if I say no?” you breathed teasingly.

“You won’t.”

And you didn’t.


End file.
